3-dimensional strip winding system for special giant all-steel radial otr tire

ABSTRACT

3-D Strip Winding System for a special giant all-steel radial OTR tire comprising: a movable base plate, a pivoting device, a support, a winding and applying device, and a bracket. The pivoting device comprises a spin orbit of an external gear ring, a positioning and rotating inner race, a support plate, a servo motor, and a drive gear. The spin orbit of an external gear ring is fixed on the plane of movable base plate. The positioning and rotating inner race is flexibly attached inside the spin orbit of an external gear ring. One end of the support plate is fixed to the positioning and rotating inner race. The servo motor is fixedly disposed on the support plate, the output end of which is connected with the drive gear after passing through the support plate. The drive gear is engaged with the outer edge of the spin orbit of the external gear ring.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority benefits to Chinese Patent ApplicationNo. 200810052989.5 filed on May 5, 2008, the contents of all of theaforementioned specifications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a tread winding system for rubber tiremachinery, and more particularly to a 3-dimensional strip winding systemfor a special giant all-steel radial OTR tire.

2. Description of the Related Art

Giant tires, and special giant all-steel OTR (Off The Road) tires arewidely used. These tires have large diameter, wide cross section, thicktread, and different winding shape from that of general radial OTRtires. They also require higher winding and applying accuracy thangeneral radial OTR tires. Therefore, traditional winding systems onlyapplicable to general radial OTR tires cannot be used with special giantall-steel OTR tires.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-described problems, it is one objective of theinvention to provide a 3-D strip winding system for special giantall-steel radial OTR tires, featuring high accuracy, flexible adaptionto different winding shapes, and safe and easy operation.

To achieve the above objectives, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention, provided is a 3-D strip winding system for a specialgiant all-steel radial OTR tire, comprising: a movable base plate, apivoting device, a support, a winding and applying device, and abracket. The winding and applying device is fixed on the support, whichis flexibly connected to the pivoting device. The pivoting device isrotatably connected with the movable base plate. The bracket operates tominimize stretch of a rubber strip, whose output end is disposed on thesupport.

The pivoting device comprises: a spin orbit of an external gear ring, apositioning and rotating inner race, a support plate, a servo motor, anda drive gear. The spin orbit of an external gear ring is fixed on theupper surface plane of the movable base plate. The positioning androtating inner race is flexibly attached inside the spin orbit of theexternal gear ring. One end of the support plate is fixed to thepositioning and rotating inner race. The drive servo motor is rigidlydisposed on the support plate, whose output end is connected to thedrive gear after passing through the support plate. The drive gear isengaged with the outer edge of the spin orbit for the external gearring.

The winding and applying device comprises: a floating guide, an applyingand stitching roller, a drive unit for the applying and stitching rollercylinder, a support for the applying and stitching roller, a non-returndevice, a cutter, an air discharging roller, and a tachometer device.All above-mentioned units are installed on a supported plate of thesupport. The drive unit for the applying and stitching roller cylinderis connected to a lower front portion of the floating guide. The supportfor the applying and stitching roller is fixed at the front end of thedrive unit for the applying and stitching roller cylinder. Thenon-return device is flexibly connected to the upper end of the support.The applying and stitching roller is rotatably disposed at the lower endof the support. The cutter is connected to the bottom of the applyingand stitching roller. The air discharging roller is disposed below thecutter. The tachometer device is fixedly disposed below the airdischarging roller.

The tachometer device comprises: a tachometer roller, an encoder, alink, a cylinder bracket, a cylinder, a cylinder hinged support, a railadapter, rails, and slide blocks. The tachometer roller is installed atthe front end of the link. The encoder is fixed at the side of thetachometer roller. The cylinder bracket is fixedly connected to thelink. The output end of the cylinder is hinged with the cylinderbracket, and the input end of the cylinder is flexibly connected to thehinged support. The rails are placed rigidly below the rail adapter. Theslide blocks are disposed at a predetermined position on the rails andare fastened to the link.

The bracket comprises: a group of telescopic rods for bracket, a groupof servo drive rollers for strip transportation, and a group offollow-up guide rollers. The servo drive rollers for striptransportation and the follow-up guide rollers are installed at a properposition of the telescopic rods. The front end of the bracket isconnected to the support and the back end to the movable base plate.

Advantages of the invention include:

1) the tachometer device can detect in real time the line speed ofcarcass joint point by PLC control, making the line speed of carcassmatch that of strip transportation, thus improving the uniformity ofapplied strip on the built carcass and guarantee the precisionrequirements;

2) the non-return device is able to prevent effectively the rubber stripfrom moving back after winding and cutting;

3) the servo drive rollers for strip transportation can greatly reduce,at multiple spots, friction between the strip and the follow-up guiderollers during the long travel of strip transportation, decreasing theexcessive stretch of strip during transportation and improving thequality of winding and applying.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Detailed description will be given below with reference to accompanyingdrawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 3-D strip winding system for aspecial giant all-steel radial OTR tire according to one embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a pivoting device according to one embodimentof the invention as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial enlargement of a pivoting device according to oneembodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a strip winding and applying deviceaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an “A” direction side view according to one embodiment of theinvention as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of a tachometer device according to oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a strip transportation bracketaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

Legend: 1. Movable base plate, 2. Pivoting device, 2-1. Spin orbit of anexternal gear ring, 2-2. Positioning and rotating inner race, 2-3.Supported plate of pivoting device, 2-4. Drive gear, 2-5. Servo motor,3. Support, 3-1. Supported plate of the support, 4. Winding and applyingdevice, 4-1. Floating guide, 4-2. Drive unit for an applying andstitching roller cylinder, 4-3. Support for an applying and stitchingroller, 4-4. non-return device, 4-5. applying and stitching roller, 4-6.Cutter, 4-7. Air discharging roller, 4-8. Tachometer device, 4-8-1.Tachometer roller, 4-8-2. Encoder, 4-8-3. Link, 4-8-4. Cylinder bracket,4-8-5. Cylinder, 4-8-6. Cylinder hinged support, 4-8-7. Rail adapter,4-8-8. Rails, 4-8-9. Slide blocks, 5. Bracket, 5-1. Telescopic rod, 5-2.Servo drive roller for strip transportation, 5-3. Follow-up guideroller.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a 3-D strip winding system for a special giantall-steel radial OTR tire comprises a movable base plate 1, a pivotingdevice 2, a support 3, a winding and applying device 4 and a bracket 5.The winding and applying device 4 is fixed on the support 3. The support3 is flexibly connected to the pivoting device 2. The pivoting device 2is rotatably connected to the movable base plate 1. The bracket 5operates to minimize stretch of a rubber strip, whose output end isdisposed on the support 3. The pivoting device 2 comprises a spin orbitof an external gear ring 2-1, a positioning and rotating inner race 2-2,a support plate 2-3, a servo motor 2-5 and drive gear 2-4. The spinorbit of an external gear ring 2-1 is fixed on the plane of the movablebase plate 1. The positioning and rotating inner race 2-2 is flexiblyattached inside the spin orbit of an external gear ring 2-1. One end ofthe support plate 2-3 is fixed to the positioning and rotating innerrace 2-2. The drive servo motor 2-5 is rigidly disposed on the supportplate 2-3, whose output end is connected to the drive gear 2-4 afterpassing through the support plate. The drive gear 2-4 is engaged withthe outer edge of the spin orbit of an external gear ring 2-1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the winding and applying device 4 comprises: afloating guide 4-1, an applying and stitching roller 4-5, a drive unitfor the applying and stitching roller cylinder 4-2, a support for theapplying and stitching roller 4-3, a non-return device 4-4, a cutter4-6, an air discharging roller 4-7, and a tachometer device 4-8. Allabove-mentioned units are installed on a supported plate of the support3-1. The drive unit for the applying and stitching roller cylinder 4-2is connected to a lower front portion of the floating guide 4-1. Thesupport for the applying and stitching roller 4-3 is fixed at the frontend of the drive unit for the applying and stitching roller cylinder4-2. In the embodiment, the support for the applying and stitchingroller is substantially in a triangular shape. The non-return device 4-4comprises a group of non-return rods, one end of which is a wedge shape,and the other end is flexibly connected to the upper end of the supportfor the applying and stitching roller 4-3. The wedge-shaped end fallsdown naturally through gravity against the applying and stitching roller4-5, wherein the tip of the wedge shape touches the applying andstitching roller 4-5. The applying and stitching roller 4-5 is rotatablydisposed at the bottom of the support for an applying and stitchingroller 4-3. The cutter 4-6 is connected to the bottom of the applyingand stitching roller 4-5. The air discharging roller 4-7 is disposedbelow the cutter 4-6. The tachometer device 4-8 is fixedly disposedbelow the air discharging roller 4-7.

As shown is FIGS. 5 and 6, the tachometer device comprises: a tachometerroller 4-8-1, an encoder 4-8-2, a link 4-8-3, a cylinder bracket 4-8-4,a cylinder 4-8-5, a cylinder hinged support 4-8-6, rail adapters 4-8-7,rails 4-8-8 and slide blocks 4-8-9. The tachometer roller 4-8-1 isinstalled at front end of the link 4-8-3. The encoder 4-8-2 is fixed atside of the tachometer roller 4-8-1. The cylinder bracket 4-8-4 isfixedly connected to the link 4-8-3. The output end of the cylinder4-8-5 is hinged with the cylinder bracket 4-8-4, and the input end ofthe cylinder 4-8-5 is flexibly connected to the hinged support 4-8-6.The rails 4-8-8 are placed rigidly below the rail adapter 4-8-7. Theslide blocks 4-8-9 are disposed on a predetermined position of the rails4-8-8 and are fastened to the link 4-8-3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the bracket comprises: a group of telescopicrod for bracket 5-1, a group of servo drive rollers for striptransportation 5-2, a group of follow-up guide rollers 5-3. The servodrive rollers for strip transportation 5-2 and the follow-up guiderollers 5-3 are installed at a proper position of telescopic rod 5-1 forbracket. The front end of the bracket 5 is connected to the support 3and the back end to the movable base plate 1.

The 3-D strip winding system for a special giant all-steel radial OTRtire of the invention operates as follows:

According to required size and winding shape of the green tire, adjustthe transversal and longitudinal adjusting unit on the movable baseplate to allow the winding and applying device to run in compliance withthe tread profile. Then, adjust the pivoting device so as to meet theturning radian required between the sidewall and the crown. The rubberstrip is fed onto the bracket by previous sequence, as per technicalrequirements. The strip has to be transported onto the winding andapplying device after passing through the guide rollers on the bracket.By the help of the floating guide rollers, the strip is wound andapplied, from applying and stitching roller, to the preset position ofthe green tire. The applying and stitching of the green tire iscompleted by the applying and stitching roller and the air dischargingroller, which is used in conjunction with the movable base plate and thepivoting device to finish the winding and applying of the required shapefor the green tire. During winding and applying, the tachometer devicecan detect in real time the rotational speed of the green tire so thatthe rotational speed of the green tire can be adjusted to match that ofstrip transportation. After winding and applying, the strip is cut by acutter. Since the applied strip on the applying and stitching roller isalso underneath the non-return device, it is possible to slightly inserta wedged-shape tip into the strip to push forward the strip; thus, thestrip does not move back, which is convenient for next operation.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from the invention inits broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is tocover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

1. A 3-D strip winding system for a special giant all-steel radial OTR tire, comprising: a movable base plate; a pivoting device; a support; a winding and applying device; and a bracket for minimizing stretch of a rubber strip, said bracket having an output end; wherein said winding and applying device is fixed on said support; said support is flexibly connected to said pivoting device; said pivoting device is rotatably connected to said movable base plate; and said output end is disposed on said support.
 2. The 3-D strip winding system of claim 1, wherein said pivoting device comprises a spin orbit for an external gear ring, a positioning and rotating inner race, a support plate, a servo motor, and a drive gear; said spin orbit for an external gear ring is fixed on the upper surface plane of said movable base plate; said positioning and rotating inner race is flexibly attached inside said spin orbit for an external gear ring; one end of said support plate is fixedly connected to said positioning and rotating inner race; said drive servo motor is fixedly disposed on said support plate; an output shaft of said drive servo motor passes through said support plate and is fixedly connected to said drive gear; and said drive gear is engaged with an outer edge of said spin orbit of an external gear ring.
 3. The 3-D strip winding system of claim 1, wherein said winding and applying device comprises a floating guide, an applying and stitching roller, a drive unit for the applying and stitching roller cylinder, a support for the applying and stitching roller, a non-return device, a cutter, an air discharging roller, and a tachometer device, all connected to said supported plate of the support; said drive unit for the applying and stitching roller cylinder is connected to a lower front portion of said floating guide; said support for the applying and stitching roller is fixedly connected to the front end of said drive unit for the applying and stitching roller cylinder; said non-return device is flexibly connected to an upper end of said support; said applying and stitching roller is rotatably disposed at the bottom of said support; said cutter is connected to the bottom of said applying and stitching roller; said air discharging roller is disposed below said cutter; and said tachometer device is fixedly disposed below said air discharging roller.
 4. The 3-D strip winding system of claim 3, wherein said tachometer device comprises a tachometer roller, an encoder, a link, a cylinder bracket, a cylinder, a cylinder hinged support, a rail adapter, rails, and slide blocks; said tachometer roller is installed at the front end of said link; said encoder is fixed at the side of said tachometer roller; said cylinder bracket is connected to said link; said output end of said cylinder is hinged with said cylinder bracket; said input end of said cylinder is flexibly connected to said hinged support; said rails are placed rigidly below said rail adapter; and said slide blocks are disposed at the predetermined position of said rails and fastened to said link.
 5. The 3-D strip winding system of claim 1, wherein said bracket comprises a group of telescopic rods, a group of servo drive rollers for strip transportation, and a group of follow-up guide rollers; said group of said servo drive rollers for strip transportation and said group of said follow-up guide rollers are installed on said telescopic rod; the front end of said bracket is connected to said support and the back end is connected to said movable base plate. 